Sorry for the tardiness of today’s post. I have a good reason: I’m just coming back from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where I’ve spent the weekend with my brother, Kenn, and his son, Matt. We arrived on Friday, and didn’t start home until noon today. We enjoyed all of the festivities associated with the induction of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Mike Piazza to the hall of fame over the weekend. This isn’t exactly a “bucket list” item for me, but more of a lifelong desire fulfilled, and I enjoyed it as much as I pictured it in years gone by.
The main leadership lesson I learned from baseball’s newest hall of famers is: No one gets to the Hall of Fame without a lot of help. Both Griffey and Piazza shared a plethora of names who helped them get to the podium in Cooperstown during their acceptance speeches. As you might expect, both had a great deal of praise for their parents, who pushed them to follow their dreams and do their best. They mentioned high school coaches, and minor league coaches and instructors who helped them developed their skills. They pointed to teammates and managers in the big leagues, and even mentors who had made it to the hall of fame before them.
As I sat with nearly 50,000 others in the hot sun listening to Griffey and Piazza thank many of those who were responsible for their success, I reflected on the many people who have helped me become who I am. In addition to those Griffey and Piazza mentioned, I would add mentors who I’ve only met through the books they’ve written or the videos in which they’ve appeared. Many of my mentors are long dead to this life, and many others I’ve never had the opportunity to meet even though they have poured much into my life through their written or recorded thoughts, ideas, plans, and instructions.
Every person who ever achieves anything of lasting value does so with help. No man (or woman) is an island. God created us for relationship, and as we interact with one another in our families, at work or school, or in community and recreational activities, some around us make major contributions to who we are, who we become, and the legacy we will leave when we have died. As I walked through the three floors of the baseball hall of fame, and saw the artifacts of nearly 150 years of baseball, I realized that some of those enshrined in the hall played the game as well or better than anyone else. Others invested their time and money into making the game America’s pastime. Certainly, they saw the profit it would bring them, but they believed the game would be a positive use of people’s time, a productive way to invest an afternoon. Still others were the rule makers and enforcers. While others were innovators. Baseball is truly a microcosm of life in these ways. It also shows us that while not everyone will end up a hall of famer, (statistically the number of those who play in the major leagues who will end up as one is about 1%), we can all be leaders as we work together, and use the God-given gifts, passions, abilities, personalities, and experiences of our lives to pave the way for others who will follow us, or to help others achieve their life goals.
No one knows whether he or she will stand on a podium one day at the end of a career receiving the accolades of the fans of his or her field of endeavor. What we can know for sure is that if any of us find ourselves in that situation, we won’t have attained that pinnacle without a great deal of help from those around us. May we be encouragers, mentors, and leaders who help others attain their life’s purpose. In doing so we will go a long way in attaining our own.
Here’s to leading better by helping others along the way–today!